Arïel, I can try anchoring the graphics but am really not sure why there would need to be content to simply tell a chapter - really, just a page - to start based on the last page of the previous chapter.

Just to be clear:

The previous (first) chapter ends on recto. The one in question (and several more thereafter) should simply start according to whatever happens before it, regardless of where the previous chapter ends.

Well... Just tried this with a new document, and text on a page has no bearing on page flow; I created two completely empty chapters to test this. I deleted a page from the first chapter, and the first page of the second chapter re-flowed properly.

You aren't really answering the questions, so it's hard to figure out what your document structure is.

If you've used styles, and the first paragragh in the first page of your chapter has a Keep Option as part of the style, or one has been applied as local formatting, and that keep option specifies a page to start on, then that is going to control what page that paragraph will occupy.

Perhaps you could show us some screen shots of this chapter changeover.

You're using a Book to combine files. That's important information that wasn't included before. Page flow in a book is controlled by the numbering options you choose for both the Book and the individual files, and whether you need to update the page numbering.

ID presumes that odd numbered pages are rectos and evens are versos in left-to-right languages. If you've set things up to continue from previous number in the docs and the book numbering options, and the various files are open, the numbering should update and the pages will swap sides if you change the page counts by a single page (this can, by the way, cause a lot of trouble if you have master objects that you override).

And... we're back to the start - what you're saying about how having things set up so that chapter pagination should continue from the previous document/chapter/page numbering in a book file simply isn't happening, which I why I started the thread.

When you say book dodument most of us see document and presume you are creating a book in one file, a common technique.

Have you synchronized the numbering?

When you go to Book Page Numbering Options from the Book panel flyout menu does the dialog look like this?

When you check the Numbering and Section Options from the Pages panel flyout menu withe first page of your second (and subsequent) chapter(s) does the dialog look like this (your page numbers and chapter number will be different, but it must be set to automatic)?

A failure of your pages to flow properly indicates a problem in one of these areas.